Downside to discharging only to ~50%

[thebooster]

I’m charging my car maybe every 3 days, but I drive very little. Seems that there is a less than ideal vampire drain but that’s not my concern here.
I often have to drive 100 miles each way with little notice. So if I keep my battery between 50 and 80 percent, am I damaging the battery by very rarely discharging it below that 50%?
I am aware fully discharging is bad and repeatedly charging to 100% is bad, but I’m not aware of the advice around this scenario.
Thanks.

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[Riviot]

So if I keep my battery between 50 and 80 percent, am I damaging the battery by very rarely discharging it below that 50%?

No.

Regular 70-50-70 charger here, 43k miles, battery SoH has stayed at 94% since I started monitoring it. Monthly 90-20-70 for work needs, 3-4 times a year do I hit 100 for road trips.

 

[OUTAGAS]

How can I check my battery’s health?

 

[W1SE]

These batteries are really designed to be used. So people can do quite a bit. And you really shouldn’t stress too much. But that being said, for absolute best practice. ABC - always be charging.

Again, I say the follow as just to review best practice. it is better for battery health to charge very regularly. So every day even if you only drove 5 miles. If at home and super easy, plug it in. It doesn’t hurt to not go below 50% often. Just not as ideal to charge to a high % regularly.

avoid keeping very high charge if not planning to use it (don’t store above 90%)

 

[SeaGeo]

No.

Regular 70-50-70 charger here, 43k miles, battery SoH has stayed at 94% since I started monitoring it. Monthly 90-20-70 for work needs, 3-4 times a year do I hit 100 for road trips.

Fwiw, I'm not convinced SOH = % capacity of original.

 

[epowermarine]

No.

Regular 70-50-70 charger here, 43k miles, battery SoH has stayed at 94% since I started monitoring it. Monthly 90-20-70 for work needs, 3-4 times a year do I hit 100 for road trips.

Can you share how to check battery State of Health? thx

 

[Bar_Down]

Can you share how to check battery State of Health? thx

 

[Riviot]

How can I check my battery’s health?

Can you share how to check battery State of Health? thx

I'm not sure you can anymore, sounds like they hid it on the new update.

 

[madgrey]

Your depth of discharge sounds like it's typically around 30% (80-50%) before you recharge. Minimizing this is generally a good practice for battery longevity. Even 20-25% would be fine (charge to maybe 70-75%) but don't stress about it either way.

 

[TrashPanda]

I’m charging my car maybe every 3 days, but I drive very little. Seems that there is a less than ideal vampire drain but that’s not my concern here.
I often have to drive 100 miles each way with little notice. So if I keep my battery between 50 and 80 percent, am I damaging the battery by very rarely discharging it below that 50%?
I am aware fully discharging is bad and repeatedly charging to 100% is bad, but I’m not aware of the advice around this scenario.
Thanks.

I’ve never heard of any issues from that. Storing between 40-60 is generally what people recommend. Like you said, storing completely full or empty is what to avoid, especially full when it’s high temps. I charge mine to 70 almost every night. Not sure how much notice you need but you store it at 70 (possibly 80 if needed) and charge up the little extra when you find out. Is there a charger on the way home if you need? “Engineering explained” did a good video on these batteries recently

 

[OUTAGAS]

Thanks for the tutorial, guys. I was able to enter the Ride menu and access the High Voltage dashboard, but nothing about the battery capacity or health exists. The data under HV Battery State of Charge is N/A.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

Thanks for the technical details above! Helpful to know, even if disappointing.

***

Our charging priorities are:

#1: Make sure the vehicle does what we need at all times, without worry.
#2: Make the experience reasonably affordable.
#3: Preserve battery health, at least to a reasonable extent.

I try to stay as close to 50%, and average as close to 50%, as is convenient for the longest trips I'm likely to take the next day.

***

For me, with our MaxPack R1S, that means:

When we expect only 10-20 miles the next day, I charge to 60% if I'm at 49% or below.

When we expect 80-100 miles the next day, I charge to 70%.

When we expect 300 miles the next day, but not much the day after, I charge to 95%.

When we expect 400+ miles in a weekend, I charge to 99%.

If I'm confident of being close to a convenient, reliable, and economical charger, I charge less.

***

Find the "rules of thumb" that work for you.

Know that by not using fossil fuel directly, you're helping the planet.

Enjoy your EV, and tell others how you're enjoying it.

***

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?"

Mary Oliver, "The Summer Day," https://www.loc.gov/programs/poetry...all-poems/item/poetry-180-133/the-summer-day/

***

Enjoy the weekend! Happy Easter, to those who celebrate it!

 

[CJdergroße]

Daily charge to 80%, occasionally charge to 100% for road trips.

Use the truck, with a warranty as amazing as our 8yr/175k mi battery coverage, use it how you want. When I go on road trips, I have no qualms about fully charging it right before leaving.

This isnt the first EV on the market, if Rivian with all of their bought/acquired/learned experience through EV batteries, will let you use & abuse the battery, they're warranting it too. They won't let you destroy your battery, its not in their financial interest to do so.

I have 0 intention to keep my truck a day past 8 years, unless there is overwhelming evidence these batteries will last 10-12 years. Ill buy another Rivian though... R2 on preorder for the ball-and-chain, I'll get another T. At ~8 years, I'll have saved about $35k AT LEAST, in gas.

 

[CharonPDX]

This. Daily sure, I limit to 80%, and don't let it dip below 20% - I mean, that's one of the huge advantages of EVs, starting each day "full" (where "full" in this case means 80%.) But if you need the extra range, use it.

I regularly charged to 90%+ and discharged to under 10% on my towing road trip. EV batteries nowadays are pretty solid and should have no problem lasting 200,000+ miles. I plan on keeping my R1T until it falls apart and isn't fiscally responsible to repair. Maybe even a repair or two beyond that point.

 

[akc5247]

I charge once every few days to 85% and 100% if I do road trips.

We need to make sure the cars work for us the way we want them to be. We need to preserve battery health, but not at the expense of micro-managing worrying about battery health every day or so.

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